Thomas Bloor
Thursday, December 03, 2009
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
December. Deep and dark. The decade enters its final month. My first book, The Memory Prisoner, came out in 2000, nearly ten years ago now...
I read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby recently. He composed this book with an extraordinary lightness of touch given the subject matter. It's an account of his experiences suffering from "locked-in syndrome". Following a stroke, Bauby was left paralysed, able to move one eyelid - but that's all. He dictated his book by blinking to indicate which letter of the alphabet he required. This is moving and inspiring stuff. The dignified nonchalance of the last words, 'I'll be off now', struck me, in particular.
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